


Learning Curve

by SgtLeppard



Category: Def Leppard
Genre: Gen, The Astral Plane, Witchcraft, poor sav has a lot to learn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:54:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28054974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SgtLeppard/pseuds/SgtLeppard
Summary: In the months since discovering his powers, Sav has been learning as best he could about the craft under Steve's tutelage.No one said it would be easy, though.Sequel toUnder the Full Moon on Samhain Night.
Relationships: Steve Clark & Rick Savage
Comments: 2
Kudos: 3





	Learning Curve

**Author's Note:**

> Apparently my brain wants to write self indulgent on-the-fly shit instead of what's on my WIP list. Better than nothing I suppose. Enjoy some weird setup and terminology. Since creating this kind of universe years ago, this is just how it seems to want to work. I mean hey, actual novels about magic and witchcraft aren't usually completely accurate anyway
> 
> Okay I need to sleep now

"Oh come on!"

Sav flopped over as the baseball-sized energy sphere in front of him collapsed on itself, snuffed out. He thought he had it for sure this time. It was taking every bit of concentration just to build up an energy sphere that relatively small. It was starting to piss him off.

Sighing, he sat back up, hands cupped in front of him as he focused. Magic was partly a matter of imagination, Steve had said. What he hadn't said was that there was also a metric fuckload of trial and error. It came so easy to the guitarist. Why was _he_ having trouble?

A tiny ball began to take shape, floating just above his hands. Just a little more focus and--

The ball snuffed right back out. "Fuck!"

A muffled voice came from the other bed. "Might as well call it a night, mate. You're just stressing yourself out."

Sav glared at the blanketed form. "You're telling me to give up?"

Rolling over, Steve answered, "No." He propped his head up, meeting Sav's glare with a calm gaze. "Just that it's late, we have a show tomorrow night, and attempting to do magic without energy to spare is not going to work."

"You could probably do it right now with no problem," Sav grumbled, pouting.

"Not really. Still tired." As if on cue, Steve yawned. "Besides, there's eight elements. You're probably focusing on the wrong one."

"If I seriously have to go through all of them--"

"You might have to." Steve sat up a little bit. "Look, wait until the day after tomorrow, meditate, then work your way through each element one by one until you find one that sticks."

Sav rolled his eyes. "Doesn't sound like it's supposed to go like that."

"Yeah, technically not," Steve admitted, "but if you're having problems, gotta figure out what will work." He reached over and turned the bedside lamps off. "Put the grimoire away and go to sleep."

Well, he supposed Steve had a point. He knew way more about this than he did currently. He dropped the grimoire into the bedside drawer, then laid down on the bed.

Ever since Halloween -- Samhain, as Steve preferred to call it -- everything Sav thought he knew about himself had been turned upside down. The events of that night were forever etched in his mind. From then, Steve took it upon himself to teach his bandmate all he knew about magic and witchcraft. At the very least, Sav made a more concerted effort to pay attention. There were some days that it just didn't feel real, but then he'd make something move, just a bit, and he'd be reminded that it was real.

The problem was, it was hard. Really damn hard. Telekinesis seemed easy, but it was ultimately because Sav had been using it for a long time, despite not realising it until Halloween. Astral projection? Same thing. Meditation? Piece of cake. Everything else? A goddamn nightmare. Incantations, setting up a consecrated circle, manifesting energy, creating talismans. He had thought it would all be easy. Boy, was he wrong.

And that was just the practical stuff. The knowledge was even vaster and just as confusing. Herb identification, when and when not to use sage, why you don't touch white sage with a fifty foot pole, the ethics of different potions and why love potions are to be avoided, the differences between white, black, and grey magic. How are 'aether' and 'nether' alternative terms for light and darkness? Darkness is just the absence of light! And why is ice its own element separate of water? It would've made more sense if it was more like traditional Chinese elements or sticking strictly to the four classical elements, but apparently the type of craft Steve learned was different and seemingly niche.

 _Maybe he's right,_ Sav thought as he rolled over onto stomach. True, Steve didn't know everything, but he might as well be an expert to the bassist. There was usually some wisdom in what Steve taught him, unorthodox as it was. Maybe it would be best to worry about it later.

Sleep began to claim him, and he decided to leave it for now. Maybe a quick astral jaunt while he slept might help. Scare the shit out of Joe by flying by his hotel window while he's at it.

\-----

The astral plane was a strange place to be. Time seemed to freeze here. Everything was fuzzy, yet clear all at once. There was an echo, yet also no sound. This wasn't a place to pay attention to details in the location itself. There was nothing to see or hear, and yet all of it at once. One reaches this place by way of meditation, but must quiet their mind first, tamping down all thoughts and desires. It wasn't easy getting here, especially for a neophyte, but Sav found that with enough practise at it, it became easier.

He liked the peace this realm offered. Once in the astral plane, he could finally bring a concern to the forefront, ponder hidden meanings, glean some insight. It was the latter that would be the focus today. Steve had suggested he do this, so doing it he was.

From the unseen yet visible mists of the ethereal realm, a vague, brightly lit figure began to take form. He remembered asking Steve about this figure after the first time he had visited the astral plane. Steve's answer was that the figure was relatively unknown, but was there to provide guidance. To Sav, it sounded similar to the concept of guardian angels, but on a different level. He did wonder just who or what the figure was. Was it an angel? A loved one? His conscience? God? Maybe a goddess? Though he supposed that would be _the_ Goddess. Ultimately, he had to accept that he may not ever get the answer.

Attempting to speak never worked in the astral plane, he quickly found out. The place seemed to operate more on the unheard. Instead, he brought up the memory of his attempts and failures with his powers, putting emphasis on the elemental. That was the one thing pissing him off the most, so any help there would be great.

There was no answer, at least at first. Steve told him that there would be times that he might not receive the help he asked for, and that had happened a couple of times. He began to fear that this would be another such time until the figure finally responded.

_Listen to the chimes, young one... Their song carries the answers you seek..._

Yeah, he didn't know why he expected a straightforward answer. The figure was never straightforward.

It was still weird how the figure spoke. It had no voice, yet Sav could feel the presence of the words in his mind. He liked to imagine the figure spoke in a soft whisper. Better that than yelling.

The figure then began to dissipate, which Sav took to mean it would say no more on the matter, at least for now. What the hell did it mean by 'listen to the chimes'? A riddle? Steve might know.

\-----

"I have no fucking clue what that's supposed to mean."

Well, that's just wonderful. "Now what?"

The guitarist shrugged. "I'm not you, so I can't really answer that. Check your grimoire. She's probably appealing to your style of writing."

"Right, like my writing is gonna answer the question." Sav stopped. "Wait, hold on. 'She'?"

Another shrug. "I dunno. She comes across as something feminine to me. Don't really think she actually has a gender to speak of though."

Eh, he could see it, he supposed. Sav sighed, flipping through his grimoire until he reached the page that went into the details of the elements in this form of witchcraft. Fire, the most common. His astrological sign matched up, but he wasn't so sure it was his. Ice, second most common. No, this didn't make sense either. Air, third most common. Includes wind on general principle. Maybe, but he still wasn't sure this matched. Earth, fourth most common. Definitely not. It described Steve better, even though earth wasn't his element. Water, fourth rarest. Another potential candidate, he supposed, but a few details didn't match up. Darkness, third rarest. Officially known as nether. He failed to understand how that had anything to do with chimes. Light, second rarest. Officially known as aether. No relation to the classical element apparently. Again, he didn't see what this had to do with it. Lightning, the rarest. By virtue of that alone, Sav disqualified it. There weren't many lightning witches on the planet, but it was quite coincidental that Steve was. That took his nickname to a whole new level.

At this rate, he was going to give himself a headache. He closed the grimoire with a sigh. "This isn't going anywhere."

Steve smirked around a bite of his sandwich. "Not with that attitude, it won't."

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Don't give up just cos it's not working."

"You do realise you're bordering on having me go insane over this."

"I recall you saying the same thing over Switch 625." Touché. Steve swallowed his bite, then set his sandwich down. "Speaking of songs, let's focus on that right now. I've got a couple of ideas for you to hear." He pulled out his guitar, which wasn't in the room a second ago. Where the hell did that come from? Actually, scratch that. Stupid question. He lightly strummed, notes and chords filling the air. "Sound good so far?"

Sav nodded, still thinking about the chime thing. "That note right there, wouldn't B flat be better there?"

Steve raised an eyebrow, then replayed the piece with the changed note. "That does work better."

As he continued to play, Sav could faintly hear a set of wind chimes coming from somewhere. This is a hotel, who the fuck has wind chimes out? He was about to go and investigate the source when the figure's words came back to him.

_Listen to the chimes, young one... Their song carries the answers you seek..._

The chimes really did sound beautiful, apparently blown by a soft breeze. Wind chimes... Wind... Air... He grabbed his grimoire again, looking over the element page. No... Could it really be that simple?

"What?" His behaviour had gotten Steve's attention.

"Chimes."

"Yes?"

"Wind chimes."

Understanding began to dawn on Steve as Sav decided to try forming another energy sphere. He concentrated, envisioning a ball of wind. Not like you can see wind. Just its effects. Maybe a little glow to it so it would actually show up. Sure enough, the sphere began to take form. Unlike the other night, it continued to grow up to volleyball size, the largest he'd been able to create. It barely took much now to keep it like this, a silvery tornadic sphere.

While he hadn't seen Steve smile, Sav knew he was.

"Now we're getting somewhere."


End file.
